Welcome to the Lion’s Den, where we retreat to discuss thought-provoking questions, and provide some occasional food for thought.
Penn State men’s basketball was voted 17th out of 18 possible teams in the unofficial preseason BIG10 media poll, which is organized annually by the Columbus Dispatch and Indy Star.
It is common for fanbases to gripe about their favorite team’s preseason rank being too low. Rutgers at 7 raises an eyebrow. The Michigan fanbase, now with Dusty May at the helm, are probably are not too thrilled to be slotted at 9, and I would bet no one in the Minnesota locker room is expecting a last place finish with Dawson Garcia on the roster.
However, it is Penn State, at 17, which may prove to be the largest miscalculation.
For starters, Penn State essentially returns their starters: a quintet of experienced veterans in Ace Baldwin, Zach Hicks, Puff Johnson, Nick Kern, and D’Marco Dunn who combined to start over 100+ games between themselves for the Nittany Lions in 2023-24. A group which, may I remind you, went 16-17 overall, including 9-11 in BIG10 play, as they markedly improved throughout the season.
But unlike last year, Mike Rhoades and staff had a full offseason to ready their roster for the ruggedness of BIG10 play. 7-footer Yanic Niederhauser headlines a transfer group that includes former 4-stars Kachi Nzeh (Xavier) and Freddie Dilione (Tennessee), as well as Eli Rice, who saw meaningful minutes for Nebraska last season.
And, it is Niederhauser and Dilione who have earned starting nods coming out of camp, with Kern and Dunn slated to start the season off the bench. Rhoades has mentioned multiple times how he feels like he has the luxury of having what feels like “seven starters” with this group.
Even beyond the starters, however, the bench depth stands out. The freshman guards of Jahvin Carter and Dom Stewart are ready-made matches for Penn State’s desired style of play, and that is before we even mention Miles Goodman, the 6’10” center, who was the second-highest rated recruit in program history, only behind Tony Carr.
I have watched every Penn State basketball game in its entirety for the past two decades. (Not many people can utter that sentence). And, with confidence, I would claim that this roster, top-to-bottom, is the most athletic group Penn State has ever been able to put on the floor.
So, how many wins will all this translate to, you ask?
Well, for a long time, the Indiana football program has been almost the perfect analogous comparison for the Penn State basketball program.
I will give you one guess as to where Indiana football happened to be ranked in the BIG10 football preseason media poll this year.